# Garth Knutson

> Garth Knutson is Aflac's Seattle-based senior vice president and chief marketing officer, an agency-trained brand operator whose career has moved from relationship marketing and major consumer accounts to stewardship of the Aflac Duck. His public work pairs a belief in consistency with selective bets in women's sports, college athletics and unexpected brand collaborations.

- **Role:** Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Aflac
- **Organizations:** Aflac, Amazon Music, Publicis Seattle, WONGDOODY, Wunderman, Washington State University, Seattle Sports Commission, Peach Bowl, Inc.
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree in Communications, Advertising specialization, Washington State University
- **Known for:** Named to Direct Marketing News' 40 Under 40 in 2012., Helped lead a collaborative process in which Special Olympics athlete-artists co-created the 2022 USA Games logo., Led Aflac marketing as the company moved activation investment from the men's NCAA tournament toward the women's tournament.

## Career timeline

- **2003-2006** — Worked at WONGDOODY, beginning as an assistant account executive in Seattle.
- **2006-2012** — Served at Wunderman in Seattle, including as management supervisor on Microsoft relationship marketing.
- **2012** — Named to Direct Marketing News' 40 Under 40 while an account director at WONGDOODY.
- **2012-2015** — Worked as an account director at WONGDOODY.
- **2015-2020** — Joined Publicis Seattle on T-Mobile and later served as group account director.
- **2019** — Helped lead the collaborative 2022 Special Olympics USA Games logo project with athlete-artists.
- **2021** — Worked in marketing at Amazon Music, then joined Aflac as vice president of brand.
- **2022** — Became Aflac's interim head of marketing.
- **2023** — Became chief marketing officer at Aflac.
- **2024** — Served as senior vice president and chief marketing officer and was recognized by Sports Business Journal among its Women's Sports Power Players for Aflac's work.
- **2026** — Aflac became the founding front-of-kit partner of NWSL Atlanta 2028 through a seven-year agreement; public posts credited Knutson's leadership in the partnership.

## Achievements

- Named to Direct Marketing News' 40 Under 40 in 2012.
- Helped lead a collaborative process in which Special Olympics athlete-artists co-created the 2022 USA Games logo.
- Led Aflac marketing as the company moved activation investment from the men's NCAA tournament toward the women's tournament.
- Helped build Aflac's partnerships with Dawn Staley and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association around equity in college basketball.
- Stewarded Aflac's long-running college-football platform with Deion Sanders, Nick Saban and the Aflac Duck.
- Recognized as part of Sports Business Journal's 2024 Women's Sports Power Players coverage.
- Helped lead Aflac's partnership with NWSL Atlanta 2028, announced in 2026 as a seven-year front-of-kit agreement.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Aflac was announced as the seven-year front-of-kit partner of NWSL Atlanta 2028; an AMB Sports and Entertainment executive publicly thanked Knutson for his leadership in the partnership.
- **2025-08** — Aflac launched its 2025 college-football campaign, again pairing the Duck with Nick Saban and Deion Sanders.
- **2025-06** — Knutson discussed the Aflac Duck's 25-year history at Sports Business Journal's Brand Innovation Summit.
- **2025-04** — At the World Congress of Sports, he explained Aflac's consistency-first sports marketing and its earlier shift of tournament spend toward women's basketball.
- **2024-12** — Sports Business Journal featured Knutson and Aflac in its Women's Sports Power Players coverage.

## Links

- Website: https://www.aflac.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garthknutson
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/gknutson

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/garth-knutson
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-14